Targhee National Forest Warm River Campground

My husband and I rolled in with our 3 kids and 20 foot trailer hoping there would be a spot available or we’d just BLM it. I was so thankful the camp hosts were very friendly & kind and had a great campsite available, spot 18. Bathrooms were nearby and they were very clean. Toilets only, no sinks or showers. Great grassy area across the way and the river was beautiful. Definitely coming back. Oh and don’t forget that mosquito repellent!

I stumbled across this campground while driving Mesa Falls scenic by-way. This campground has 27 sites, both tent, RV and a group site right along the Warm River. It also has a day use area. This campground had new vaulted toilets but no showers. Within the campground was the trailhead for The railroad grade trail (great for mountain biking) which I was told use to take train passenger to Yellowstone’s old faithful. Tubing was very popular and the campers next to us insisted that we borrow their tubes so we could try it out for ourselves, very refreshing during our hot August stay.

I snagged the last tent site #21 across the bridge in the northern half of the campground. This large secluded tent site up on the hill had a very small tent pad, fire pit and picnic table and enough room to put up my hammock. This site is next to two double sites. Unfortunately during the 5 nights I stayed some of the RVers close to us ran their generators beyond the 10pm curfew and one RVer felt the need to pull out his noisy leaf blower and blow leafs and dirt everywhere.

There is tons of things to see and do in the area, Mesa Falls, Island Park… but the hidden gem is the close proximity (less than 25 miles) to Yellowstone National Park - Bechler Ranger Station. Bechler Ranger Station is in the far SW corner of Yellowstone National Park. This area has more streams, creeks, lakes and waterfalls than any other area in Yellowstone. There is a historic Soldier Station there that is about 100 years old and there are lots of hiking trails to beautiful waterfalls. You can see cave falls right from the parking lots. I would definitely return to this campground next time I am in the area.

This campground was cramped and all the tent sites are practically on top of each other. We also had a bad run (three days) of loud neighbors that made is unbearable and forced us to leave the campground.

Good facilities with new bathrooms. Very family friendly and great place to swim.

Totally worth it, stop by this gem Last min, they do reserve and first come first serve, we got lot 22

This location is a little off the beaten path, but we’ll worth it. Our site #19 was right on the river. Beautiful clear water flows all night under a sky full of stars. It was beautiful. We got in the water for a bit, it was quite cold. We also saw kids tubing down.

No showers or sink here. Restroom facilities a short walk away.

Highly recommend. We loved our stay!

I remember camping at warm river with my dad when I was a kid and I remember how you could almost always just drive up and not worry about finding a spot to pitch our tent. Recently went up to show my wife this area and was disappointed about how many camping spots they have added some being only 20 ft apart from one another with no designated boundaries or trees to separate your spot from someone else’s. This really made me sad because my once favorite camping spot doesn’t fell like relaxing camping it feels more like a battleground. Amenities were still nice and clean and the campground in general was is still well kept. I would recommend looking for a spot in the upper loop if you want to be somewhat more spread out.

My family has gone camping here every summer and even had a family reunion here. Amazing place to stay and the river provides a lot of fun for the kids as well as some great fishing. Great hikes around the area as well. And you can’t go wrong with some great bike rides up the old rail road.

Camping on the banks on the banks of the Warm River, which actually is quite cold, can’t get much better than this! There are several options here- tent camping in a tent only walk in area along the river banks and under some pretty good hammocking trees (best sites are #12, 13, 16, and 8 because they have some space from neighbors and are right on the river); RV sites with what looks like at least electric hook ups (best sites for river views and/or privacy are #2, 4, 6, 19); from what neighbors say is pretty good fishing; and an awesome alternative to camping at Mesa Falls if that campground is full. Walk down the road and cross the river to check out a protected area of the river where the fish are HUGE and you can stand with your toes in the river while you feed them bits of bread. The sites all have the usual picnic tables and firepits, with nice level tent pads, clean vault toilets, and firewood for sale from the campground host. The only two downsides are no showers and the campground is wedged between the road and the river, so there is quite a bit of road noise in the day which fortunately dies down once dark sets in. At that point the river covers the road noise (also helpful in the morning). The campground is close to a lot of hiking trails, but there are no trailheads in the campground (so I guess that makes three bummers). All in all, a cool place to camp.